Cardiff City v Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hopes to spark happy new era at old stomping ground December 20, 2018 When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer parted ways with Cardiff City in September 2014, the Norwegian could not have envisaged the circumstances of his return. Solskjaer, in his own words, “stepped aside” at Cardiff due to a “difference in philosophy” with owner Vincent Tan, but the brutal reality is that he had failed during his nine-month spell [...]
Sweat at the Donmar Warehouse review: This Pulitzer winning play is a comprehensive dissection of de-industrialised American heartlands December 20, 2018 Following the US Presidential election in 2016, a slew of reporters were hastily dispatched to the backwaters of de-industrialised America to discover why large sections of the working class population there thought Donald Trump was the answer to their problems. They needn’t have made the trip. This play by Lynn Nottage, first performed in 2015, [...]
The Favourite: Olivia Colman is extraordinary as Queen Anne in this provocative period drama December 20, 2018 Anyone remember Queen Anne from history class? Me neither, but if Olivia Colman’s blistering portrayal of her is anything to go by, I can see why. The last of the Stuarts, she spent her final days in the early 18th century severely depressed following the death of her husband and 17 children, and hobbling about [...]
Super Smash Bros Ultimate review: A stylish Switch brawler, and a comprehensive celebration of the series December 20, 2018 The Super Smash Bros series has been around since the halcyon days of the Nintendo 64, which launched – you might want to sit down for this – 20 years ago. The original starred characters from a bunch of disparate Nintendo games beating seven shades of shandy out of one another, and as the series [...]
Saracens trip to play Exeter Chiefs will be the toughest test yet in their 22 game unbeaten run December 20, 2018 Saracens face the biggest obstacle yet in their quest to go the season unbeaten when they visit Sandy Park to face Exeter Chiefs on Saturday. The Premiership's top two teams will go head-to-head for the first time this season in what is the most significant match of the campaign to date. Exeter and Saracens have [...]
Happy Hammers: West Ham starting to reach heights promised before move to London Stadium under Manuel Pellegrini December 20, 2018 The ugly scenes at the London Stadium towards the end of last season are now just a distant memory as West Ham sit pretty in the top half of the Premier League on the back of four straight wins for the first time in almost in five years. It was just nine months ago when [...]
My Sporting Life: Hotels.com president Adam Jay talks Arsenal, playing at Wimbledon and skiing in Svalbard December 20, 2018 Hotels.com president Adam Jay on his love of Arsenal, skiing in remote places, playing tennis at Wimbledon and his hope that sport can bring people together. What is your sporting passion? Easy. Arsenal. I’m very much enjoying the Unai Emery renaissance and loving new boy Lucas Torreira’s grit. It’s so good to have the Emirates [...]
Which books regularly top the UK bestseller list at Christmas and is there a way to predict it? December 20, 2018 First came Black Friday, then its online equivalent, Cyber Monday, but few outside the publishing industry are aware of its bookish brother, Super Thursday. Usually in the first week of October, the annual event marks the release of big money hardbacks in the run up to Christmas. This year saw 544 new hardbacks released, up [...]
Record year for charity lottery fundraising December 20, 2018 Christmas is traditionally a time of charity giving, but happily the latest official figures on charity funding from lotteries, show a year on year growth on funding for good causes. The figures were published by the Gambling Commission at the end of November, and cover the year to March 2018. They show that it was [...]
Arsenal 0-2 Tottenham: Five things we learned as goals from Heung-min Son and Dele Alli send Spurs through to League Cup semi-final December 19, 2018 It was a testament to the importance of this match that both sides opted to pick their strongest possible line-ups, despite it only being a League Cup tie. Ultimately, Tottenham’s best was better, as they knocked out Arsenal with a 2-0 win – just their second ever victory at the Emirates. In times gone by, [...]